Summary

Artifact-focused strategies in Legacy have always been on the fringes of the format, constantly rising and falling in popularity. Most of these strategies were devoted colorless strategies or branched out into one or two colors. This deck that we’re featuring today goes much further, adding 2 more colors in an effort to add to the already impressive power level of Tezzeret and friends.

The true power of this deck comes from the two planeswalkers, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and Dack Fayden. Tezzeret is an impressive card engine on its own, and the fact that card advantage is gained through the +1 means it’s a very viable option to sit back and protect the 4 mana planeswalker until you drown your opponent in card advantage. Both the -1 and -4 abilities offer game-enders, but the -1 is slightly more relevant, as it can turn a meaningless artifact into a big blocker to protect planeswalkers. Dack Fayden similarly digs through cards with his +1 ability. The fact that it’s neutral on cards means Ensnaring Bridge‘s power level isn’t negatively affected. Both the -2 and -6 abilities are situational, but powerful enough to stop your opponent in their tracks.

Transmute Artifact, also known as “Even the Oracle Text Sounds Confusing”, is an undoubtedly powerful card that requires a dedicated shell around it, and this deck can offer that. Some of the powerful artifacts to search up are Crucible of Worlds which pairs beautifully with Wasteland, Ensnaring Bridge to hold the fort, and either half of the Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek combo, which allows the deck to overpower the opponent and put the game out of reach quickly.

Another interesting Transmute Artifact target in this deck is Commander 2016’s non-green legendary, Breya, Etherium Shaper. This card offers a lot in this deck, and is one of the main reasons to play 4 colors (and is in fact the only white card in the 75). Any of the activated ability modes is fantastic on its own, but is too good for much of the format to handle when paired with the Thopter + Sword combo. The first ability closes out games quickly, the second controls the board ad infinitum, and the third ability regains life lost against decks like Burn.